Ever since renegade Republican Sen. James Jeffords (Vt.) left the GOP last year, Majority Leader Tom Daschle has used the Democrats’ one-seat edge to frustrate many of President Bush’s major initiatives: killing the death tax, a ban on partial-birth abortions, a meaningful energy bill and permanent tax cuts. In many eyes, however, most significant is the fate of Bush appointees, especially high-profile U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals nominees such as Charles Pickering and Priscilla Owen, who have been rejected by Senate Democrats determined to stop any conservatives from being named to that bench. Hence the strong push by the President...